1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical and electronic control systems and technologies. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of method of and program for providing airplane emergency lighting and related devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Emergency lighting and related devices are very important components of airplane safety systems. Federal regulations requires that in an emergency situation, emergency devices such as the floor lights, exit signs, exit identifiers and markers, exit locators, etc., must remain functional for directing the passengers to safely exit the airplane.
Existing conventional airplane emergency lighting systems are all hard-wired into the airplane""s electrical systems. While there are emergency power supply provided to the emergency lighting systems in an emergency situation, the emergency lighting systems are nonetheless still relying on the hardwiring of the airplane. If the structure of the airplane is substantially broken or damaged, then the emergency lighting systems may not be fully functional because the hardwiring system may be damaged.
Another problem with the existing conventional airplane emergency lighting systems is that there is no adequate and efficient way to test the emergency lighting systems during normal maintenance. To examine the emergency lighting systems, they have to be manually turned on and visually inspected by maintenance technicians or members of the flight crew.
A further problem with the existing conventional airplane emergency lighting systems is that when there is a defect or malfunction of certain part of the system, there is no quick and easy way to tell what and/or where is the problem. For example, when the technician discovers that an emergency light is not lighting up, the technician has no quick and easy way to know whether there is a blown lamp, or a defective electronic chip in the unit, or a problem with the wiring system. The technician has to perform a time consuming and laborious procedure to find out exactly what is the problem.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new emergency lighting system for an airplane that is not relying on the integrity of the electrical hardwiring system of the airplane during an emergency situation, such that even if the airplane is broken into separate pieces the emergency lighting system will still remain functional.
In addition, it is also desirable to provide a new emergency lighting system for an airplane that can be tested wirelessly, and diagnosed and analyzed with the aid of a computer which will provide fast and precise information as to the status of the system and identify any problem, and even provide instructions to the maintenance technicians as to how to fix the problem.
Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a wireless system that can be installed in other transportation vehicles or stationary structures, which does not rely on the integrity of the electrical hardwiring system of the transportation vehicles or stationary structures, but rather can be controlled and/or tested wirelessly.
The present invention is a novel and unique wireless system for testing, controlling and operating wireless components which are separately and individually installed in a physical structure.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a wireless emergency lighting system for transportation vehicle such as a commercial airplane.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a wireless system to sense, test, control and operate discrete wireless components installed in a physical structure.
It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a wireless emergency lighting system to a transportation vehicle such as a commercial airplane.
The present invention is a comprehensive integrated system combining electronic hardware and computer software technologies that utilizes logical protocol assessment and application to interrogate, diagnose, analyze and emulate any or all necessary and essential active or passive operational parameters of the wireless components to establish the real time status of the whole system or its functional components and to identify any malfunctioning or defective components and provide recommendation or instruction of corrective actions.
In the application of commercial airplane, the present invention is an emergency lighting system which includes wireless lighting assemblies and control modules which are non-wire dependent but instead use radio transmitters and receivers for communication. The system also includes a computer for performing analytical tasks. The non-wire dependent emergency lighting assemblies are located at specified locations within the airplane. The control modules serve as interrogators. Upon demand, the control modules interrogate each light assembly to obtain information relevant to their operational condition. The information received by the control modules are retained in their memory and serve as a diagnostic reference database to be used in subsequent analytical processing by the computer. The results of such processing enables the system to reach a logical conclusion of the status of the system and its components. As a result of the information provided in the conclusion, the system defines any necessary corrective action measures to restore the operational parameters to the normal or desired level of performance.
Described specifically, the present invention is a wireless emergency lighting system for an airplane which has a central electrical bus for providing electrical power. The wireless emergency lighting system includes a multiplicity of discrete wireless emergency lighting assemblies installed in said airplane at spaced apart locations for assisting passengers of said airplane to exit said airplane in an emergency situation. Each emergency lighting assembly has an emergency lighting component, a micro processor for controlling the operation of the emergency lighting component, a memory device for storing information of the emergency lighting component, a battery for providing electrical power to the emergency lighting component, and means for receiving and transmitting radio signals. The wireless emergency lighting system also includes a multiplicity of control modules connected to said central electrical bus of said airplane for wireless interrogation of said multiplicity of discrete wireless emergency lighting assemblies. Each control module has means for receiving and transmitting radio signals, and a memory device for storing raw data received from said emergency lighting assemblies. In addition, the wireless emergency lighting system includes a system evaluation status indicator for indicating the operational status of said emergency lighting system based on said raw data collected by said control modules. The wireless emergency lighting system further includes a computer connected to said multiplicity of control modules for analyzing said raw data collected by said control modules, and diagnosing any problem in said emergency lighting system.
Described generally, the present invention is a wireless functional system for a structural object such as a transportation vehicle. The wireless functional system includes a multiplicity of discrete wireless emergency lighting assemblies installed in said transportation vehicle at spaced apart locations for assisting passengers of said transportation vehicle to exit said transportation vehicle in an emergency situation. Each emergency lighting assembly has an emergency lighting component, a micro processor for controlling the operations of the emergency lighting component, a memory device for storing information of the emergency lighting component, a battery for providing electrical power to the emergency lighting component, and means for receiving and transmitting radio signals. The wireless functional system also includes a multiplicity of control modules for wireless interrogation of said multiplicity of discrete wireless emergency lighting assemblies. Each control module having means for receiving and transmitting radio signals, and a memory device for storing raw data received from said emergency lighting assemblies. The wireless functional system further includes a computer for analyzing said raw data collected by said control modules, and diagnosing any problem in said emergency lighting system.
One important advantage of the present invention wireless emergency lighting system is that it does no rely on the integrity of the electrical hardwiring system of the structure during an emergency situation, such that even the structure is damaged or broken into separate pieces the emergency lighting system will still remain functional. It also provides significant inherent safety improvement of the vehicle due to fires arising from the potential of electrical shorts in wired environment.
Another important advantage of the present invention emergency lighting system is that it can be tested, interrogated, diagnosed, and analyzed expeditiously and systematically with the aid of a computer which will provide fast and precise information as to the status of the system and identify any problem, and even provide instructions to the maintenance technicians as to how to fix the problem.
An addition advantage of the present invention is that since the system is totally modular in design, each unit is independent of all other similar units. Therefore, there are no typical system failure modes since individual unit failures are spurious and random in nature. As consequence of the inherent reliability derived from this type of non-wire dependent redundancy, the system is capable in general, to out survive any passenger in the vehicle to assure that it will be functional for any survivor. This is not true for wired technology. Because of the nature of this condition, the present invention system provides a major increase in the survivability op passengers in a survivable accident.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the system also facilitates multiple usage regimes of aircraft such as palletized seating, cargo-combi, all cargo, quick configurations etc due to the absence of wired connections. The present invention system also incorporates a proprietary battery energy consumption sensing design.